Tasty scran to feed belly and brain in Manchester

Steve McKennaThe West Australian

Wednesday, 22 August 2018 8:37AM

Camera IconMigas at Lunya.Picture: Steve McKenna

Beyond the classic Lancashire hotpots, chips and gravy and steak and ale pies, Manchester’s food and drink scene has evolved dramatically in recent years, with upmarket openings by Michelin-feted chefs, plus a resurgence of street eats, microbreweries and gin distilleries.

Visitors coming to Manchester for a football match, a music gig or a shopping fest will find oodles of enticing places in which to refuel and tickle the tastebuds.

A good way to indulge yourself is by joining a Scranchester Eat the City tour. “Scran” is a slang term for food in the north of England, originally used in the British navy, and Scranchester guide Rob Kelly is the likeable frontman of this gastronomic adventure, which vows to feed your “belly and brain” as you explore this fast-changing city on foot.

Established as a Roman fort about AD79, Manchester is now one of the world’s most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities with more than 150 languages spoken here.

Mancunians’ eating and drinking habits are heavily influenced by this cosmopolitan melting pot, but some things never change.

We start, in true British fashion, with a nice brew. Tea is served with cakes — including a delicious raspberry cheesecake brownie — at Wolfhouse, one of the vendors at Mackie Mayor, a hip new food court in one of the revamped red-brick market buildings that sprawl across the Northern Quarter (NQ), a trendy neighbourhood on the north-eastern tip of the city centre.

Named after a 19th century mayor, Ivie Mackie, this gorgeous venue has original cast-iron columns, glass roof and exposed brick, plus an outdoor wooden seating area for when the sun comes out to play (I’m here, in June, during a “heatwave” when it’s been 25C-plus every day for a fortnight).

Exiting Mackie Mayor, we stroll through the NQ, past an array of street art and offbeat eateries (not least the feline-friendly Cat Cafe).

Ten minutes later, we’re in Manchester’s medieval quarter, where postcard-pretty timber-framed pubs sit cheek-by-jowl with glossy modern malls and landmarks — including the National Football Museum, which has a lauded “space-age Asian” restaurant, The Rabbit In The Moon, above it.

Camera IconHo's Bakery, Chinatown.Picture: Steve McKenna

As Rob regales us with key points and figures from Manchester’s past, from its role in the abolition of the slave trade to it being the birthplace of the suffragette movement, he pours us shots of Hawksmead mead — a sweet alcoholic beverage crafted in Bolton, one of the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester.

This sweet fermented mix of water and honey is increasingly popular in a city synonymous with the worker bee. Manchester’s motif during the Industrial Revolution, when the city was dubbed Cottonopolis and its workers toiled busily away in textile factories and warehouses, the bee is now seen more as a symbol of solidarity. It’s etched all over, in bins and buildings, bollards and bar menus, and even inked on to people’s skins (there was a huge spike in bee tattoos after last year’s terror attack).

Camera IconManchester's medieval quarter.Picture: Steve McKenna

You might see real bees flitting about, too. Rob points out beehives on the roof of the city’s cathedral. Moving on, we buzz into beautiful Barton Arcade, which is home to a clutch of esteemed establishments, including Lunya, an authentic Spanish restaurant and deli, where we enjoy tantalising Catalan cheeses and migas (chorizo, morcilla and pancetta sauteed with breadcrumbs, onion and garlic, topped with a poached egg).

Lunya is popular with Manchester’s Spanish footballers and coaches, with Pep Guardiola, the ex-Barcelona coach, pictured dining here after becoming manager of Manchester City in 2016. Guardiola, incidentally, is one of the backers of Manchester’s newest Catalan restaurant, Tast Cuina Catala, which has Michelin-lauded chef Paco Perez in the role of executive chef.

Camera IconThe Rivals at The Royal Exchange.Picture: Steve McKenna

In another visually arresting building, The Royal Exchange, one of Manchester’s premier theatre venues, we eat torched mackerel, Jersey royal potatoes and pea shoots at The Rivals. Big on regionally sourced ingredients, this modern British gastropub is run by one-time Coronation Street actor Rupert Hill and named after the first play staged at the Royal Exchange in 1976.

Previously this grandiose Edwardian domed building was where Manchester’s textiles were traded around the world and an old sign on the wall shows some of the destinations they were exported to, such as New York and Paris.

Camera IconManchester.Picture: Steve McKenna

Our next stop is Chinatown — the biggest in Britain outside London — and we feast on egg tarts amid the bready aromas of Ho’s Bakery, a third-generation stalwart located opposite the decorative Chinese arch.

Returning to the Northern Quarter, we tuck into fresh, flavoursome Hawaiian-inspired treats — think: salmon, prawns and tuna trickled with wasabi and teriyaki sauces — at Oke Poke, then artisan pork, mushroom and cheese pastry rolls at Tariff & Dale, a cool bar-restaurant in a converted cotton spinners and warehouse.

Camera IconGinger's Comfort Emporium.Picture: Steve McKenna

Our final stop — four hours after we started — is Afflecks, a multi-storey shopping bazaar packed with quirky fashions and curios. On the first floor, we find Ginger’s Comfort Emporium, which is renowned for its award-winning ice-creams and sorbets.

As well as your standard choices, there are inventive options such as cucumber, mint, gin and honey sorbet, and blue cheese, porter and ginger schnapps ice-cream. After placing my order, I glance out the windows at the Northern Quarter’s street activity, and listen to Rob’s last titbit about Manchester. Ice-cream was first introduced here by immigrants from southern Italy in the 19th century.